When Arnold met Rob: A California political dream

Some pundits are casting a 2006 statehouse race between GOP movie star and Democratic director

November 02, 2002|By V. Dion Haynes, Tribune national correspondent.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Terminator versus Meathead?

Lulled by the ho-hum gubernatorial race featuring Democratic incumbent Gov. Gray Davis and Republican challenger Bill Simon, political pundits are looking ahead to the 2006 race and concocting this made-in-Hollywood scenario: Arnold "The Terminator" Schwarzenegger, the Republican, against Rob "Meathead" Reiner, the Democrat.

Neither has officially declared himself a candidate, but that has done little to quell speculation. Both have name recognition, and both sponsored statewide ballot initiatives that some view as efforts to test the political waters for the next governors contest.

"It's very presumptuous to say that Rob would win a [Democratic] primary and I would win a [Republican] primary," Schwarzenegger said in an interview after a recent speech in which he was promoting his Nov. 5 ballot initiative aimed at expanding after-school programs across the state.

The fact that California, a state that manufactures bigger-than-life heroes for world consumption, has such a vacuum of charismatic political leaders illustrates to some how a body builder-turned-action hero could be viewed as a potential candidate.

"My focus [now] is continuing in show business with my movie work," said Schwarzenegger, 55. "Later on, I can see if there's something else I'm interested in."

The rumors "come out of boredom," he added, fingering a cigar on the table. Political reporters "have nothing to write about, so they're jumping to 2006, making up stories and scenarios."

Enamored with President Richard Nixon, Schwarzenegger embraced Republican ideology shortly after emigrating from Austria in the 1960s.

He is well-known for participating in Republican politics--he was appointed by the first President George Bush to a commission on physical fitness--even though he is married to NBC News reporter Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family. Republicans, seeking to capitalize on his international appeal as well as his story of pulling himself up by his bootstraps, have approached him about running for Congress or the governorship.

Politics golden for other stars

An entertainment career has hardly been an impediment to politics in California. Ronald Reagan served as governor before becoming president, the late Sonny Bono was mayor of Palm Springs before being elected to Congress and Clint Eastwood served as mayor of Carmel.

Warren Beatty drew attention a few years ago when he toyed with the idea of running for president.

Reiner, who starred as Archie Bunker's beleaguered son-in-law, Michael Stivic, in the 1970s sitcom "All in the Family," sponsored a successful ballot measure in 1998 that increased the cigarette tax to finance preschool programs. He is chairman of First 5 California, a state agency established to implement the law.

Reiner, 55, who is directing a romantic comedy tentatively titled "Loosely Based on a True Love Story," was unavailable for comment. He has said that for now, he is focused on making the preschool law "the most successful early-childhood program in the country."

Raphael Sonenshein, a political science professor at California State University-Fullerton, said, "It's a fanciful scenario to suggest that Reiner would become the Democratic nominee [in 2006] because the competition among Democrats will be fierce. But it's not fanciful to suggest that Schwarzenegger would end up on the [Republican] ticket."

He added: "The Republicans have no bench in California now. Any well-known person with fame and money has a good shot" in the governor's race in 2006.

Schwarzenegger, who makes an estimated $30 million per movie, is best-known for his role as the tough cyborg in the two "Terminator" movies, the second of which grossed $200 million. He just completed filming "Terminator 3." Some recent movies, including "Collateral Damage" and "The 6th Day," have not fared so well at the box office.

"All aging action heroes, when they continue to be action heroes, sometimes meet with audience resistance," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, a Los Angeles-based company that tracks box-office receipts.

"Clint Eastwood has diversified into directing; Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson are doing more character roles," he added. "Schwarzenegger may be thinking that the way for him to diversify his career is to go into politics."

Known as Proposition 49, the Schwarzenegger measure would establish sports, tutoring, arts and other after-school programs at all 6,600 public schools in the state. Schwarzenegger said the measure is a pre-emptive program that would save the state billions of dollars in costs associated with juvenile crime.